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New Orleans, LA
Home Automation, Inc., (HAI) the leading
manufacturer of integrated automation and security products, has been selected
to receive a research grant from the Partnership for Advancing Technology in
Housing (PATH). This grant was awarded to six US companies after a 6-month
evaluation conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
an agency of the Commerce Department's Technology Administration, on behalf of
the PATH Program.
The grants awarded inaugurate a new program
called the PATH Cooperative Research Program, or PATH-CoRP. The U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) manages PATH. In addition to HUD and the
Department of Commerce, PATH partners include 10 additional federal agencies and
a number of housing industry representatives.
"The purpose of the PATH grant is to fund
the development of technology that will have a real impact on housing,"
explained James Hill, Deputy Director of NIST. "The scientists involved in
the selection process for the grant recognized the potential for real savings by
homeowners who use HAI's programmable thermostats."
HAI is partnering with Steven Winter Associates,
Inc. (SWA) of Norwalk, Connecticut to use the grant funds for research into the
reduction of cycling of conventional HVAC systems. Together, HAI and SWA will
develop a variable deadband thermostat that will maintain a comfortable
temperature while saving 10 - 15% of energy use. According to SWA Senior
Research Engineer, Ravi Gorthala, Ph.D., "This technology is simple and
does not increase the cost of current thermostats. It will be useable by
homeowners of all incomes and also by low-income renters."
The development and demonstration of a variable
deadband thermostat is expected to be completed by late summer of 2001.
According to SWA, the project, if successfully commercialized, has potential for
significant energy savings and reduction of CO2 emissions, resulting in
important environmental benefits.
"We're excited to participate in such a
groundbreaking project," commented HAI President Jay McLellan. "HAI
has always endeavored to develop products that have a genuine benefit in energy
savings and comfort for homeowners, so this acknowledgment of that philosophy is
most gratifying."
For more information on HAI's award winning
home automation product line, please visit www.homeauto.com
or call (800) 229-7256.
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